My Car Overheats

postvr8 · Joined: 27 May 2006 Posts: 18 Location: SLC, UT

My car's been overheating lately, mostly in stop & go traffic, in fact, on the freeway, it's fine, just stop & go is when it heats up. What's the first step? Replacing the water pump, replacing belts? Oh, I checked all fluid levels, they're fine, but I'm tempted to try an oil change first. It's a '91 Ford Tempo with about 155,000 miles (great airport car).

B200Driver · Joined: 29 May 2006 Posts: 26 Location: Douglasville, GA

Is the electric cooling fan on the radiator working? If it cools fine when underway, then the water pump is probably not the problem. I'd check the electric fan first, and blow the radiator fins out with a garden hose or compressed air. How hot is overheating? Does it boil coolant out?

postvr8 · Joined: 27 May 2006 Posts: 18 Location: SLC, UT

No, water doesn't boil out, and I didn't think to check the fan, thanks for that tip... it gets right up to H, I loaned it to some friends when they were in town and they said at one point steam was coming from under the hood... but I haven't seen that yet... and it's never quit from getting too hot... so I guess that's good. I'll try your suggestions and see what happens, thanks again.

sf340dvr · Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Posts: 57 Location: Appleton, WI

I'm with B200Driver on this one. It's not a circulation problem if it cools down on the highway. If it was a water pump, an engine with 155K would probably be toast by this time. If it was the thermostat, then it wouldn't cool at highway speeds or any speed. It most certainly seems to be a radiator fan or radiator problem. Follow B200's tips.

Just one question to diagnose the problem, did this happen over time or did it start suddenly?

BTW, CHECK YOUR OIL CONSTANTLY UNTIL YOU GET THIS FIXED! I had a vehicle that had a similar problem, but it was the thermostat. I just drove it this way because I was too busy to fix it and too cheap to get it fixed. The problem was that the engine used a little oil regularly, and when it started running hot it started burning oil fast and I didn't check the oil more often. The oil got low enough that the cam didn't get any oil and the cam welded to one of the journals and twisted in half! I needed to replace the whole head and components, because the pistons ended up bending the valves where the cam stopped!

B200Driver · Joined: 29 May 2006 Posts: 26 Location: Douglasville, GA

I know it's an airport car, but you should be careful. "its never quit from getting too hot" isn't a good thing. If the problem isn't addressed, it will eventually quit. Then you'll be airport car-less. When you checked the fluids, did it have coolant or water in the radiator? If it is water, you'll want to add some coolant. People think antifreeze is only for cold days, but it actually RAISES the boiling point of water as well as lowering the freezing point. Have you ever changed the coolant in the car? At 155K, it's waaaaayyyy overdue. Let us know if the fan worked. Are you an ASA guy?[/quote]

postvr8 · Joined: 27 May 2006 Posts: 18 Location: SLC, UT

It's been a little while since I've given it an oil change, but not that long, maybe 6 months at the longest. I completely changed the coolant 2 years ago, I've probably only put 10,000 miles on it since I changed the coolant. So is it not possible that the water pump has intermittent problems? It either works or doesn't work? I'll try cleaning the radiator fins, checking the fan for operation, and the oil change. The resevoir (radiator overflow, whatever you call it) has plenty of fluid in it, now, whether or not it's moving from the resevoir to the radiator, I don't know. I'll get back to you.

I'm currently with Trans States, but things are slowly moving backwards (we announced more furloughs and displacements today in the name of GoJet), so I'm desperately looking for a way out. Interviewing with SkyWest next Monday, but can't really afford to give up 3 years of seniority and go to work for $19K/yr. Let me know if you can hook a brother up.

B200Driver · Joined: 29 May 2006 Posts: 26 Location: Douglasville, GA

Check the electric fan for operation, and then the radiator fins. If the car has A/C, there might be an A/C condenser in front of the radiator. If the condenser has started leaking, it will have leaked oil out with the refrigerant (they're mixed together.) This oil will attract all sorts of dust and crud, which could greatly reduce the effectiveness of your radiator. Try this: Put a trouble light behind the radiator. Look in from the front of the vehicle. If you cannot see easily through to the trouble light, air is not passing through either.

I'd hook a guy up if I could. Things at ASA are wierd now. They will be good after we get a contract, but it may require a strike. The ballots are supposed to be out soon. Interviewing at SkyWest sounds like a good idea. They're probably the best game in town right now. Maybe they'll merge our lists someday....

postvr8 · Joined: 27 May 2006 Posts: 18 Location: SLC, UT

Actually I noticed a ton of oil type debris all over the front of the engine and assumed I had a small oil leak, so I'll definitely be looking at that.

I applied and got an app from ASA but decided not to fill it out because I heard they're closing the SLC domicile and I have no desire to commute to ATL.

postvr8 · Joined: 27 May 2006 Posts: 18 Location: SLC, UT

The oil change worked, guess it had been longer than I thought since I'd changed the oil... that's a bad sign when the oil has broken down to the point where the car overheats.... good thing it's just an airport car... speaking of which, I got a job with SkyWest, based here in SLC... no more commutting for me, well, not as an FO, when I upgrade, I'm sure I'll have to commutte to a more junior domicile.

webmaster · Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:28 am Post subject:

Glad you got things fixed! I'm sure you'll really enjoy Skywest, it seems like really good company. Of course, if it isn't run by HK then it's gotta be better than TSA.

Good Luck! Cool

Maureen · Joined: 06 May 2009 Posts: 1

twilight · Joined: 01 Apr 2011 Posts: 1

I think over heating is not good for Used cars.May be check if there is any problem in engine. We generally change cars oil after 350 to 500 miles.

2003civic · Joined: 02 Jun 2011 Posts: 4

I'm hoping someone can give me some insight. my car has been overheating off and on over the past several months. the first thing i did was change the thermostat. that seemed to do the trick until mid-April. Since then my can has been going down hill. recently i've changed the oil, fan fuse, another thermostat, and a new alternator. i'm over a $700 fix at this point. my car has 141,000 miles on it and i do my best to take care of the engine. i've had the car 5 years and this is just boggling my head. can anyone help me out?

thank you

jholmes · Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 80 Location: Eagan, MN

Overheating can cause many problems to a car...including things that are not related to the cooling system at all. Nothing will damage an engine fast than high temperatures except for no oil.

When is it overheating? Can you watch the temp gauge and see it go up and down or just go up and stay up?

2003civic · Joined: 02 Jun 2011 Posts: 4

while driving my 40+ minutes to and from work on the highway it's perfectly fine. the second i stop at a light or hit traffic i can watch the guage go up slowly and then hold at the highest it can. i'll turn my car off and let it sit at that point so the engine can cool down enough for me to get home or to the mechanic. i'm trying to avoid a cracked head or blown gasket. i don't see smoke coming from the engine or from my tail pipe. the oil is changed every 3000 to 3500 miles. yesterday is when the overheating happened again after driving for 40+ minutes and then sitting in stop and go traffic for another 40+.

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